WAUKESHA, WI – A welfare check in a Wisconsin town reveals a mess authorities call unsafe. Authorities found 331 chinchillas inside a home in Waukesha -and that’s not all.
Police say three children live in the home — ages seven, nine and 17. According to police, conditions in the home were “deplorable” — calling the home a “hoarder home” based on pathways through the home to negotiate through stacks of clothing and various belongings.
Animal rescue crews from ‘HAWS’ – The Humane Animal Welfare Society – taking kennel after kennel from inside the home.
Police say the smell of ammonia was so overwhelming that officers contacted the Waukesha Fire Department.
Chief Mark Sweet said, “Our fire marshall deemed it not livable in there.”
Police were originally called to the home for a welfare check, but it was then they made the shocking discovery.
331 living chinchillas were pulled from the home. They were housed in the living room and dining room of the home — which is a rental property, police say.
25 dead chinchillas were found in the garage and a chest freezer in the basement.
Chief Sweet said the conditions inside the home are some of the worst he’s seen in his 30 years on the job.
The Department of Health and Human Services was also called out to the scene Sunday. Police say child neglect charges are expected to be filed against each of the parents in this case.
Police are also exploring charges related to the poor treatment of the chinchillas.
